Design’s in play in world of sports

Experts in art and sports talk about what does and doesn't work.

The Winnipeg Jets' uniforms use two shades of blue that are RCAF-related. The darker “Polar Night Blue” suggests the contemporary force. The lighter “Aviator Blue” conjures up earlier Canadian aviation history.

It’s about time for some real colour commentary about sports: about sports colour, logos and design.

In hockey alone, much of the buzz this season has been about new uniforms, redesigned logos and the overall revamped look for many teams. The Nashville Predators have gone into branding overload with four — count ’em, four — new logos this season. The Leafs, Edmonton Oilers and Chicago Blackhawks are going the other design way, emphasizing a classic look. Critiquing the Winnipeg Jets’ bomber logo has had sports blogs blistering since the summer.

Each new sports season means as much for designers and sports marketers as it does for the players, maybe more. The market for sports merchandise in North America is worth nearly $13 billion annually, with 65 per cent of that coming from the four major leagues: baseball, football, basketball and the NHL.

Signature international hockey team sweaters are about to be celebrated by the Hockey Hall of Fame. The Tissot World of Hockey Zone, which opened at the hall this past weekend, is packed with heritage sweaters and iconic designs from each of the 69 member countries in the International Ice Hockey Federation.

To have a better understanding of what works in sports design and what doesn’t — and why design remains so important, personally and corporately — we contacted professionals who bring their own individual marketing and visual art expertise to understanding sports design.

Tavis Coburn is a Toronto designer/illustrator who recently helped brand English Premiership soccer club Arsenal’s new Emirates Stadium in London.

Max Valiquette, former host of TVOntario’s VoxTalk, directs intellectual property development and content development for Bensimon Byrne, the Toronto advertising agency creators of the “I Am Canadian” Rant.

Susanna Heller is an internationally recognized painter raised in Montreal with a studio in Brooklyn. She loves the New York Mets, “but not their uniforms.”

Why design matters

Coburn honed hockey and sports passion playing atom and midget hockey in Mississauga. He became a Los Angeles Lakers fan while studying in California. Valiquette still carries a grudge for those who killed his “beloved Montreal Expos.” Anselmi has a “Pavlovian response” to the Leafs “ ever since he watched the ’67 Leafs with his father. “ A brand is a collection of perceptions that form in an individual consumer’s mind,” he says.

Heller says, “You couldn’t grow up in Montréal if you didn’t love hockey. If you didn’t, you might as well leave the city.” She dumped The Beatles when she developed a “major” crush on Canadiens forward Guy Lafleur.

“A sweater’s colours say, ‘I’m from here, I’m from this particular place.’” Says Heller. “A team’s colour is about being local, not nationalistic. It also says, ‘Our colours are always the best.’”

The past

“One reason this works is that the classical colours in sports are older colours,” adds Heller. “The Chicago Blackhawks uniform is very cool this way. The Red Wings logo and red colour are very bold, although there are too many red and white combinations in sports. When the new Brooklyn Nets unveil their new uniforms, I bet they’ll use the same blue as the old Brooklyn Dodgers.”

Every aspect of Winnipeg Jets design and marketing is intended to suggest Winnipeg’s “rich history,” says Jets general manager, Kevin Cheveldayoff, notably the team’s historical ties to the Royal Canadian Air Force Wing 17 unit based near the Winnipeg Airport.

The two shades of blue used by the Jets are RCAF-related. The darker “Polar Night Blue” suggests the contemporary force. The lighter “Aviator Blue” conjures up earlier Canadian aviation history.

And so are the Leafs. “In 85 years we’ve had about six different jerseys and logos,” Anselmi adds. “There’s been some tweaking here and there. But generally the look doesn’t change. . . . Coca-Cola doesn’t change its logo very often.

What doesn’t work

“Then there was the Montreal Expos uniform and Expos symbol,” says Heller. “That was the ugliest uniform ever.”

Why Design Matters

Sports design underlines sports-as-entertainment. It’s no stretch for rap mogul Jay-Z planning to design the uniforms and branding look of the Brooklyn Nets when the NBA team, which he has a financial stake in, moves from New Jersey for the start of the 2012-2013 season

“But when you see a relatively young team like the Phoenix Coyotes adopt a muted, sophisticated red as the primary colour of their entire brand it’s (to) stand out against a sea of hyper bright colours that dominated the sports landscapes,” says Coburn.

Translated: It’s all Leafs all the time. Scoring streaks may come and go, but stripes are forever, all day and night.

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